Doug has submitted two panel proposals for next year’s SXSW Interactive Festival, taking place on March 13-17 2009 in Austin, Texas. The community gets to vote on which proposals make the final programme, so this is where you come in… head over to the links below and please give your vote by clicking on the star ratings.

1. How the mobile phone will save the world, tomorrow
Mobile is the fastest growing market in the world today. Other than being a completely personal device, it’s also an enabler. There are more mobile phones in the hands of impoverished people than any other electronic device, opening them up to incredible things such as payment services. This is just the beginning for how mobile phones can save the world.

2. Silicon Valley’s Irrelevance in the Next Generation of Mobile
The US is so focused on the iPhone, it’s become like a rabbit caught in headlights. The iPhone has brought the internet to mobile phones in the US, but the rest of the world was using mobile internet long before, on handsets with greater functionality. The next generation of mobile development is coming from emerging markets.

And if you’re short of time you can quickly rate both proposals from this summary page

Voting closes on August 29

Thanks!

We’re looking into this problem and aim to fix it asap! In the meantime if you’re on the ‘new’ interface and want to install our application, just go directly to this link -
http://trutap.com/facebook/setup/

After ten years in the UK, our stats man Clifty realised he was in serious of danger of turning into a ‘pom’. Something clearly had to be done about that, so he’s leaving us this month to get married and head back to the safety of Australia and the company of decent cricketers. All the best Clifty!

Doug will be a speaker on the Mobile Social Media panel at the Mobile 2.0 Europe conference in Barcelona on 4th July. If you’re attending and would like to meet up, just let us know.

OK so I am showing my age remembering a Supertramp song If you are in Singapore for CommunicAsia then why not join us the for exclusive UKTI Breakfast on Thursday morning at the Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel. Carl and I will be in town from Sunday evening (Singapore time) and always have time for more meetings or just beer - get in touch if you need an invite.

Congratulations to Vinny and Kate Hayes on the arrival of their new daughter. If you were looking for news of the next version of trutap, then you will have to wait a little longer!

David Whitewood will be at MEF’s Mobile Entertainment Market in Cannes on the 8th and 9th of May, and Doug Richard is hosting a table at the Meffys Mobile Entertainment Awards on the Thursday evening, so as ever get in touch if you are attending and would like to meet up.

Congratulations from all of us to Carl and Kirsty, who got married on Friday! Have a fantastic honeymoon!